


We’ll Deck the Halls and Fall La La in Love

by loveyoushall (iknowhowyoukiss)



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Damerey Secret Santa, F/M, Star Wars Modern AU, WE COULD HAVE HAD IT ALL, and i've missed them, holiday fluff, i haven't written these two cuties since june, i'm not crying
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:48:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28346406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iknowhowyoukiss/pseuds/loveyoushall
Summary: Rey Skywalker doesn't have many fond memories of the holidays, but an unexpected visitor means to rectify that immediately.
Relationships: Poe Dameron & Rey, Poe Dameron/Rey
Comments: 6
Kudos: 44





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [totheendoftheworldortime79](https://archiveofourown.org/users/totheendoftheworldortime79/gifts).



> Surprise, Michelle! I'm your Damerey Discord Secret Santa! I hope you've had the best holidays despite the really strange year! Please accept my humble offering of fluff with a big ol' side of banter and pining the way only these two adorable dumb-dumbs can do <3

The knocking at the front door startles her awake and the jump from dream world to reality is both abrupt and jarring. At first Rey thinks maybe it’s just an echo of said dreams, a sound conjured by her overtired mind, but it persists and it’s louder this time; just enough to grate on her nerves. 

“ _Whathafuck_ ,” she grumbles groggily, the sentence stringing itself together into one word.

She turns her head towards the window and notes that it’s still dim in her room, the rising sun barely lightening the sky enough for her to see through the thin fabric of her curtain. Another shift of her eyes towards the clock on her nightstand reveals the early hour and she swears again. Rey’s always considered herself an early riser, but 6:00 AM on a Saturday is cutting it close, even for her. 

The knocking starts up again and- oh god, are they actually calling her name? She groans in annoyance. So much for hoping whoever it is just goes away. Rey reluctantly drags herself from the bed, taking the comforter with her and draping it across her shoulders. She trudges out of her room and makes for the front of the house, the bedding trailing miserably behind her. 

“This better be important,” she mutters to herself, pushing up onto her toes to take a look out the peephole when she gets to the door. There’s a jolt of surprise that works its way down her spine and any remaining exhaustion left fogging up her brain promptly dissipates. 

“What the fuck?” she whispers to herself again, pressing even closer to the door as if it will give her a clearer view from the tiny hole. Whatever she had been expecting, it certainly hadn’t been _this_.

Her heels drop back to the floor and she tears her gaze away, looking at nothing in particular as she tries to work out what the hell is going on and why _Poe Dameron,_ of all people, is casually standing on her welcome mat at the asscrack of dawn. 

At the next series of raps, she flips the lock and tugs the door open, her brow furrowing as her head tilts in obvious confusion. “Poe?”

“Hi!” he greets cheerfully, his breath puffing out in a tiny cloud from his mouth. 

He’s dressed in his winter best, jeans tucked into his snow boots and dark blue cable-knit sweater under a heavy coat. There’s a gray scarf around his neck and a matching gray flat cap covering his unruly curls. 

_Stars_ , she sighs internally. She wants to kick herself for the thought and the involuntary reaction; she frowns instead. Nobody has any business being that handsome so early in the morning, if you ask her.

“Are you lost?” Rey asks bluntly, if a little irritatedly. 

It’s his turn to look confused. “What? No, I-” He stops mid sentence, eyes drifting over her as he takes in her obvious rumpled state. “Oh shit. I woke you, didn’t I? I’m so sorry, Finn and Rose said you were an early riser.”

She tugs the blanket around her a little closer, an attempt at warding off the chill that’s begun to creep in through the doorway. “Apparently not as early as you. Don’t take this the wrong way but, uh, what are you doing here?”

It’s not that she’s upset at seeing Poe, just surprised is all. They know each other well enough from several mutual friends; in fact, they’ve been fluttering around the same social circles for over a year now, but even so, she wouldn’t exactly label their relationship as ‘close.’ At least, not close enough for him to be showing up announced at her house on the weekends. She didn’t even know he knew where she lived. Honestly, it’s a miracle she can even call them ‘friendly,’ really, what with the amount of time they spend bickering and sniping at each other. 

The smile he gives her is sheepish, charming in a way that disarms her almost immediately, and she finds herself scowling again. 

“I sort of have a little surprise for you...” he trails off, hand reaching up to rub at the back of his neck. 

Rey squints at him. He’s nervous, she can tell, but she doesn’t have a clue why. 

“For me?” she questions, completely perplexed. “What is it?”

“Ah, see, that’s the thing,” he chuckles softly, sticking his hands in the pockets of his coat and rocking back onto his heels. “You have to come with me to get it.”

The stare she gives him is long and unblinking. 

“I have to come with you to get it,” she parrots, attempting to process what he’s saying to her. 

Poe nods. 

Her eyes widen suddenly, brows shooting upwards. “You mean, _right now_?”

“Right now,” he confirms with another nod of his head.

“At six o’clock in the morning?”

“Well,” he replies, scrunching his nose at her. “It’s probably closer to six-thirty now, but yes.” 

She wishes she didn’t find the gesture so endearing. “I...I’m just supposed to go with you? No questions asked? Do you know how crazy this sounds?”

“Yes, but I’m hoping I’ve piqued your curiosity enough that you’ll just go along with it.”

She sighs heavily. _Damn it_. He’s got her there. 

“I literally have no idea what is happening right now.” She says it more to herself than to him, though.

Poe’s dimples flash in his cheeks as he brings his wrist up and pulls back the sleeves of his sweater and coat to check the time. “Well, the faster you can get ready, the sooner you will. You have twenty minutes, Skywalker.”

She starts, her body obviously taking on a mind of its own as she backs up towards her bedroom. “I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this.”

“Tick-tock,” he replies simply, smiling at her again.

“What do I wear?” she calls out to him.

“Clothes!”

“ _Helpful!_ ” She hopes he can hear the way her eyes roll.

“I do my best,” he answers.

His amused laugh is the last thing she hears before she closes the door to her room and leans back against it. She takes a moment to herself, pressing a fist to the space just below her breast bone where little winged creatures have begun to take flight. It’s a vain attempt at soothing them, and her frazzled nerves.

Rose calls it the ‘ _Poe Dameron Effect_ ,’ the way that man can make even the strongest of wills unsteady. She takes another breath and wonders what exactly he’s up to and why on earth she’s given in to the whim to find out.

That’s a lie, she knows why. She’s never been one to resist the call of adventure, or trouble for that matter, something which Poe always seems to have a little of tucked up his sleeve for rainy days. Or in this case, snowy ones. 

(And maybe there’s something else, something she’d only ever admit in the privacy of her mind: she’s never been able to resist _him_ either.)

* * *

“ _This_ is your big surprise?” she asks him, teeth chattering slightly as they stand side by side at the back of his car, looking out at the frozen pond just a few miles from her place. 

It’s a hidden gem, concealed from the main road by a grove of trees. She’d been by a few times during the warmer months, drawn to the area by its peace and quiet. She didn’t realize people were using it for a natural ice rink this time of year, though. 

“Well, one of them,” Poe says.

Her head snaps to him, but he’s already turned around to pop the trunk open. 

“There’s _more_?” 

He glances at her but doesn’t reply, holding out a bag for her to take with his eyes full of mischief and his dimples winking to life again. 

“You said there was one,” she says.

“And maybe there’s another one after,” he shrugs. “Now come on, this place is going to be teeming with people soon and we’re going to lose some quality ice time.”

Poe grabs a second bag from the trunk then proceeds to lock up the car and begin the short trek to the pond. 

“I’m sorry, some quality _what_?” she asks, tailing after him.

“Ice time,” he repeats. “We’re going skating.”

Rey takes the opportunity to peek into the bag he’s given her, and sure enough, a pair of ice skates stares back at her. _Oh, hell._ She abruptly stops walking and shakes her head at him. “Absolutely not.”

He chuckles lightly. “Are you always this contrary, or is it just with me?”

She ignores him, refusing to be drawn into an argument by his teasing. “I don’t know what you know about me, Dameron, but I don’t skate. I don’t know how.”

His gait slows and he turns, walking backwards so he can look at her when he says, “That’s alright, I’ll teach you.” 

The tone in his voice catches her off-guard, her eyes narrowing on his form. He’s like...a different Poe today, one with soft words and even softer smiles, instead of the fire and sharp edges that often put her back up and make her tense. Rey questions if she’d even really gotten up that morning; maybe she was still dreaming and this was some alternate reality sweet version of Poe. Then he parks it on a bench just at the edge of the pond, turning the full force of that charm on her, with crinkled eyes and all, and a big part of her hopes that she isn’t. 

Rey sighs quietly to herself.

Getting the shoes on is easy enough, getting on the ice, however, is an entirely different matter. She imagines she looks like a baby deer taking its first steps -- wobbly, uncertain, timid. So she clings to Poe’s hands like a lifeline and if her grip is too tight, well, that’s his own fault. This was his idea, after all. 

But he doesn’t complain, just skates backwards in front of her and sticks true to his word, doing his best to instruct while moving on the ice with the kind of ease and grace that only comes from years of experience.

“Show off,” she mutters grumpily, after they’d been at it for a while with very little progress on her end.

“Push and glide,” he tells her with a smile, watching her feet and being patient as ever despite repeating himself for the thousandth time. Okay, she might be exaggerating the number, but it certainly feels like the thousandth time.

“I _am_ pushing,” she grits out, “ _and gliding_.” 

“Flex the knees, you want to keep your weight right on top of the skates. Good! Now rock the ankle and use the inside edge to-”

He cuts off as her traitorous foot chooses that moment to slip out from under her. Rey tries not to squeal as she stumbles into Poe _again_ , her hands releasing his own this time to grip at his arms instead. Their bodies collide with a quiet _oof_ , but he takes it like a champ, bearing the abrupt force of her weight and somehow managing to keep them upright. 

“Easy, easy,” he soothes, a soft laugh spilling from his lips. “I’ve got you.”

His gaze lifts to hers and her heart shoots up into her throat when she realizes their proximity to one another. Poe’s the nearest he’s ever been, close enough that she can see the bits of honeyed-brown in the rich mahogany of his eyes. His smile widens at her and something warm and glow-y slides through her veins.

 _Shit_. This is either the best idea he’s ever had, or the worst. 

Rey swallows thickly then quickly disentangles herself from him and returns to their training position. “Where’d you, ah, learn how to do this anyway?”

“My mom taught me,” he tells her. This time his smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “She loved skating. She took me out almost every weekend during the winter and we’d do it until my feet were numb and my fingers felt like they were going to fall off from the cold. It was a little tradition of ours, me, her and my dad. It’s one of my favorite memories from my childhood.”

“Do you still go with your dad?”

“Once in a blue moon,” Poe says. “Not like before.”

They’d never talked about it between each other, but Rey had gotten the gist of the story from Finn, how Poe’s mother had passed unexpectedly when he’d been very young. 

“I’m sorry,” she offers, trying not to wince at how lame it sounds to her ears, but Poe gives her hands a squeeze.

“It’s okay, it’s been a long time.”

Perhaps, but she knows better than anyone that it doesn’t matter how long it’s been, some hurts never go away completely. “For what it’s worth, I think she’d be happy knowing you’re still doing something you used to love to do together.”

“Thanks,” he tells her, and then his eyes flash, pleased. “I think she’d be happy knowing I don’t completely suck at passing along her knowledge to someone else either.” 

She cants her head at him, giving him a quizzical look, but Poe merely grins and nods down between them. Sure enough, when Rey lowers her gaze, she finds that she is moving along _without_ his help. Somewhere during their conversation, he’d sneakily let go of her hands and allowed her to stand on her own.

Her face is a mixture of shock and delight, she’s sure, and while she’s still wobbly and her technique isn’t nearly as smooth as his, she is _moving_ and most importantly, _not_ falling into him or on her ass. 

“I’m skating!” she laughs, all of her earlier hesitations melting away with the unbridled joy that comes with accomplishing something new.

“Damn right, you are!” Poe holds his hand out for a high-five that she enthusiastically gives, then he moves around to skate beside her. He matches her pace, staying far away enough to give her space, but close enough that he can reach out and steady her on the occasional foot slip. 

He takes her around and around, until her cheeks hurt from smiling so much and her feet are numb and her fingers feel frozen through. By then, a lot more skaters have joined in on their little bubble of fun, and while it’s a tad overwhelming to have so many people whizzing by, it’s truly something to see what skating can really look like.

She notices Poe’s eyes following a few people, their technique far more advanced than Rey thinks she’d ever be able to master in just a few hours in the morning. She gives him a nudge with her shoulder.

“You can let loose if you want,” she says when he turns his head to her.

The corners of his mouth tick up and to Rey’s surprise, he takes her hand in his and draws her close into his side. “I’m good right here.”

Once again she finds herself on uneven ground with him, her entire world upending with just four words. She’s not sure what to say to that, worried about misconstruing his meaning, being too vulnerable, and embarrassing herself. 

Hoping too much. 

“Oh,” she replies instead, her face feeling suddenly warm despite the crisp morning air. “Okay.”

“ _Okay_ ,” he echoes, brown eyes light and teasing. “There’s just a lot of people, you know? Wouldn’t want you to fall on your face or anything.”

“Right, of course, _how chivalrous_ ,” she deadpans, pushing back the tinge of disappointment that rises up within her and trying to keep the snark out of her voice. From the way that he barks out a laugh, she's not entirely certain she was successful.

He helps her onto the snowy bank and down onto the bench. “The most chivalrous. Now, skates off and shoes on. We’ve got a couple more things to do and not a lot of time left to do them.”

Rey fixes him with a look. “Are you ever going to tell me what this,” she gestures between them, “is all about?”

“Where’s the fun in _that_?” 

The sigh she gives him might be a touch overdramatic. “Do I at least get a hint?”

Poe purses his lips, considering. “Snow might be involved.” He chuckles at the expression on her face, standing and holding out his hand for her to take again once he’s finished lacing his boots. “Come on desert girl, we’ll make a snow bunny out of you in no time.”

This time, when her hand slides into his, she is painfully aware of how perfectly it seems to fit there. She tries not to think about it too hard, or how much she’s secretly enjoying herself.

(Or how eager she is for the next surprise he’s got in store.)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year! Michelle, my apologies for the late update, life caught up with me and then these two decided they wanted more time together so you get one more chapter after this and we'll earn that M rating, I promise ;)

“What?” Poe asks, his voice full of amusement. 

The car ride’s been mostly silent the last ten minutes, save for the holiday music playing softly in the background, and Poe’s occasional small talk. It hasn’t been uncomfortable, just...different. 

Rey’s had her gaze trained on him for a little while now, studying his profile, picking out the charming bits of silver in his hair near his ear that’s peeking out from under his hat, and thinking about how very surreal this whole morning has been so far. 

“Nothing,” she replies, turning away from him and crossing her arms over her chest as she leans back into her seat with a huff.

“ _Oh_ , come on,” he insists. “I know you, I know you’ve got something on your mind.”

There’s a strange little thrill that moves through her with his words. For someone who’s always been a bit of a loner and often preferred to keep her own company rather than anyone else’s, it’s nice to feel seen. It’s also just odd who it happens to be coming from, though. 

“This is weird, right?” she wonders.

“What is?”

“This.” Rey takes another peek at him.

His eyes shift briefly to her then, his brows pinching together in a silent question.

“ _I don’t know_ ,” she sighs, just a touch exasperated. “Shouldn’t we be... _fighting_ or something?” 

“Do you _want_ to fight?”

“I mean, not _really_ , but that’s what we _do_ , isn’t it?”

Poe chuckles softly at that, a sweet, chiming sound that’s happening with a frequency Rey’s really beginning to enjoy.

“We don’t have to fight,” he replies. “I don’t want to fight.”

“Okay,” she answers.

“Okay.”

There’s a pregnant pause, followed by another question from Rey. “That’s it? We’re just...not going to fight _ever_ now?”

He laughs again, a little louder this time. “I mean, I don’t know about _ever_ but, how about we agree not to today?”

“Okay,” she says again.

“Okay,” he repeats with another smile.

Rey still feels unsettled, unused to this communicative, unhostile ground she’s newly found with Poe. It feels delicate to have, yet also not unpleasant. She continues to stew in her feelings while Poe turns left at the next light, then immediately perks up at the sight that greets her. 

It’s a small two lane road with various ‘mom and pop shop’ style businesses lining the sidewalks. She practically presses her nose to the passenger side window as she takes it all in. It’s adorably quaint and picturesque; each business festively decorated for the season, and.

“You okay over there?” Poe wonders. 

She turns her head to smile at him despite the teasing tone in his voice. “I will say this, hanging out with a local certainly has its perks. I’ve lived here for over a year and had no idea this place even existed.”

“Most people don’t,” he comments. “It’s a little off the beaten path.” He puts the car in park after finding a space in the lot behind the buildings, and nods his head towards one of the shops. “Come on, Skywalker, breakfast on me.”

He doesn’t offer his hand this time, and Rey hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath, anticipating it, until he doesn’t. She tries to convince herself it’s not disappointment that settles sharp and unwelcomed in her stomach. 

She shouldn’t be greedy for it, she knows, but it’s difficult not to want something now that she’s had a taste of it and realized how much she’s enjoyed it. Poe’s always been a bit of a tactile individual, though, so all of the little touches are likely just Poe being Poe, and not anything more. 

He opens the door for her then, reaching out to touch her lower back as she passes as if to prove her point. It’s instinctive to want to look at him, but she refrains, reminding herself that not every touch means something. Even if it makes her stomach flutter.

 _Maker._ A few hours alone with the man and her brain is already in complete emotional upheaval. 

Rey shakes her head at herself and turns her attention towards breakfast. She peruses the menu, attempting to focus on anything but Poe and the heat of his hand that she swears she can feel on her skin despite the many layers of clothes she’s wearing.

“Coffee?” he asks her when they step up to the register. 

Rey nods her head but continues to stare up at the board behind the barista taking their order. She misses most of Poe’s conversation with the young woman, but the trilling laugh that soon echoes around the shop has Rey snapping to attention.

Her young eyes are full of stars and every bit dazzled by Poe, and Rey tries not to roll her own. She knows the feeling all too well, but did the barista need to be so _obvious_ about it? Jeez.

Poe, as if sensing her mood, angles his body towards her and gives a playful tug to her scarf. “You ready to order, Sunshine?”

He’s only ever called her that with sarcasm heavily attached to it, a nickname born from the first time they’d ever gotten into an argument and she’d called him ‘ _an absolute ray of fucking sunshine_.’ His smile is all charm now, however, as if he just _knows_ what she’s stewing about, and she has to work to keep her expression carefully neutral. 

She purposefully ignores him, rattling off what she wants to the barista. When she’s finished, she glances at him again, her brow promptly arching up at the smirk on his face. He doesn’t look at the barista again, oh no, he keeps those rich brown eyes on her’s while he gives his own order. 

It’s unnerving having all of his attention like this, but she holds his gaze until he moves to pay. He asks for a gingerbread cookie from the display case as an afterthought, and when he turns away to get the coffees on the other end of the counter, the barista at the register gives Rey her own raised-eyebrow look.

‘ _Oh my god_ ,’ she mouths at Rey.

Rey offers her a tight smile before following after Poe. Yeah, she absolutely knows the feeling. 

Poe holds out the pastry bag to her, adding a wink when she joins him, and she feels her annoyance rack up just a hair.

“Does that always happen?” she can’t help but ask, and if her voice snaps a little, well, he’ll just have to deal with it. She doesn’t take the cookie.

“What?” he asks in return. 

His expression is innocent enough, but the glint in his eyes betrays him and tells her he knows _exactly_ what.

“ _Nothing_ ,” she grumbles, and this time she does snap, snatching the cookie out of his hand in the process so she can proceed to eat her feelings away. “Forget it.”

“You jealous or something?” he questions.

Boy, and what bold one it is. Rey avoids the question, refusing to give him the satisfaction of an answer, and instead begins nibbling at her gingerbread while they wait, breaking off little pieces and savoring each bite. 

“It’s okay to be jealous,” he tells her after a moment, rocking back onto his heels with a sip of his drink, smug as ever. “It’s a good look on you.”

His tone is teasing but she glares at him anyway and is abruptly taken aback by the fond expression on his face. Whatever irritation she’d been feeling rapidly fizzles out and she’s left there wondering about that soft smile and whether she was just going crazy or if he was actually _flirting_ with her. 

She doesn’t have a chance to respond to him, another barista interrupting the moment to pass off their food. Poe carefully tucks both sandwich bags in the hand with his coffee and gestures with his head for her to follow him out. He opens the door for her again and she feels his eyes on her as she eases by. Outside, his free hand falls to her lower back once more, guiding her away from the shop and onto the sidewalk.

She tries to tell herself that the shiver that courses through her body is from the cold and not from the casual intimacy that seems to have developed between them now that they aren’t constantly at odds with each other.

He leads her down to the end of the block then turns onto the next street. They go past the lot he had parked in and keep close to a fence lining the road. Through the trees, Rey can just start to make out the tiny figures of people spread out across a large clearing.

The closer they get, the louder their chatter and laughter becomes. She turns her head at the sudden squeals that permeate the air and watches in wonder as a couple on the far side of the clearing goes careening down a hill on a bright red sled.

Her gaze flicks to Poe, realization dawning on her. “Are you taking me sledding?”

He turns that grin on her again and she’s 100% certain that she prefers that to any of the scowls he’s given her before. 

“Yup,” he answers, popping the ‘p’ at the end. “Another winter custom from my childhood. But we’re going to eat and build a snowman first.”

“ _Oh, stars_ ,” she breathes quietly to herself. She’s never been sledding before.

He must notice the look on her face because he gives her another easy smile. “Don’t worry, it’s way easier than skating, I promise. You mostly just have to sit there, gravity takes care of the rest.” He chuckles at the way she scrunches her nose uncertainly at him. “I told you I’d make a snow bunny out of you. Now come on, Skywalker, let’s see what you’ve got. I have to warn you, though, I’m pretty good at snowmen-building.”

“ _Oh, are you?_ ” she snorts, amusement coloring her tone. 

“One of the best,” he boasts.

Their teasing banter continues as they finish off their breakfast and when it’s time to build, Poe selects the perfect spot for them to hunker down and get to work. It’s far enough away from the other people enjoying the snow but not so far that they can’t enjoy watching everyone else themselves and feel like a part of the winter magic.

It takes about half an hour or so to build their snowman, it probably would have taken less if Poe hadn’t kept trying to bait her into a snowball fight and tossing small handfuls at her every so often. 

She swats the next smattering of snow that he throws away from her face. “ _Poe!_ ” she half hisses, half laughs.

She’d been so distracted by that, that she can’t predict his next move and the icy slush that he throws at her with his other hand. He doesn’t miss this time, getting her full in the face as she squeals from the cold that starts to melt against the heat of her skin and trickle down her neck. 

He’s howling with laughter when she reacts instinctively, launching herself at him and dragging him down into the snow. He yelps in surprise when her body makes contact, the breath _wooshing_ out of him as he lands on the ground with a hefty _oof_.

He reacts, too, rolling over her and trying to pin her down so she can’t retaliate, but Rey is scrappy and quick, hooking her leg around his and using the leverage to get him beneath her again. She straddles his hips, pressing her hand firmly into his chest and holding a fistful of snow threateningly above his head with her other hand. 

“You try anything funny again and _I swear to the maker_ , this is going in your face, Dameron!”

She might take herself more seriously if she wasn’t giggling between the words. Poe’s eyes are warm and laughing as he holds his hands up in surrender.

“Alright, alright,” he concedes. “No more funny business.”

“You swear?”

“I promise,” he laughs. 

Rey stares at him for a moment longer, hoping the arch of her brow conveys how serious she is being about throwing the snow in his face if he tries anything again. She’ll rub it in for good measure too. 

When she feels satisfied with his answer, she drops the snow and sits back, intending to stand up. Poe shifts at the same time, though, sitting himself up and the motion makes her legs slip out from under. She makes a noise of surprise, her hands finding purchase on Poe’s shoulders, gripping him tightly for balance.

Rey ends up flat on her butt and, quite literally, in Poe’s arms when they come around her to steady her. She gasps softly, frozen in place again by his sudden close proximity, and has the fleeting thought that if any of his activities don’t kill her, the way they keep finding themselves tangled up like this most certainly will.

She might have made a move on him if she was a little bolder, a little braver, but Poe’s eyes are stormy and unreadable, the intensity of his gaze making her flush warm with anxiety. Making her hesitant. 

For the second time that day, she extricates herself from the man she’s worried she’s already half in love with. 

“You okay?” he asks, and his voice sounds rough and gravelly to her ears. 

She nods but is unable to find her voice, busying herself with dusting snow from her clothes. In the spirit of camaraderie, she holds her hands out to help him up, then moves away before he can get a word in. She turns her attention to the snowman they’ve made, studying it with the same intensity Poe had been studying her.

It’s...well...it’s not the best. They’d made the base too big, the rest of it too small, and it leans a little to the right. Its stick-arms are uneven and its rock-smile is just a hair crooked. But even with its many imperfections, Rey finds herself grinning from ear to ear.

She loves every bit of it. 

“What should we name it?” she asks him.

“Something...distinguished,” Poe replies. 

“Benedict,” she decides on a whim. “Benedict Bernard VIII.”

“Hmmm,” Poe hums, angling his head thoughtfully. “He’s missing something. I know.” 

He unwinds his scarf from around his neck and wraps it around Benedict’s top and middle layer. He takes the cap off his head with no fuss and she watches with rapt attention as he begins to run his fingers through his hair. It’s a tad longer than she remembers him ever having it, curling just on the side of wild and laced with bits of silver, and making her fingers itch with the desire to touch.

She swallows thickly, forcing her eyes from him and focusing on making Benedict look more presentable with the additions to his wardrobe. 

“Isn’t he great?” Rey sighs happily when she’s finished. She turns to look at Poe then, whose features have softened once more. 

“He’s something,” he laughs lightly, placing his hands on his hips while he surveys their handiwork. 

“Oh, here,” she says, reaching out to adjust the hat. “Cap’s crooked.”

“Looking good, _Sir Beebee_ ,” Poe comments, seamlessly imitating Rey’s accent and bowing with added flourish. 

Rey shakes her head at his antics then stiffens slightly when he touches a hand to her shoulder. 

“Come on, let me take your photo with this masterpiece.” 

She stands proudly next to their creation and is all grins as he snaps a few pictures of her. She does some funny ones at his insistence, like leaning on Bee’s shoulder with her hands and popping one of her feet while cheesin’ big for him.

Poe flips the camera then, taking several selfies of the three of them; some are serious, some are silly, but as Rey looks through them in his gallery, she thinks they all turned out great. Her eyes are drawn to the crinkles around Poe’s eyes and her heart gives an especially weighty _thrum_ that she does her best to ignore.

When they’re finished, she collects his loaned items and hands them back to him, then says goodbye to their little snowman friend before trekking after Poe as he leads the way up the hill for their next adventure.

She’s still not entirely sure about the sledding thing but when they get to the top and she gets on their rented sled, and Poe settles in behind her, she thinks maybe it’s not so bad after all.

He’s warm and solid at her back, and she realizes too late -- as she’s gripping the rope at the front of the sled -- that there isn’t anything for him to hold onto except for, well, _her_. She is acutely aware of every one of his movements, from the way his hands slide across her middle to the way his arms fit around her waist.

Sure, comforting, perfect.

She tells herself it’s anxiety over their turn down the hill and experiencing something new that’s made her heart begin to race, and not the word currently on repeat in her head: _perfect, perfect, perfect._

It’s the last thought she has before one of the attendants nudges them over the edge and they begin their descent. Her scream gets stuck in her chest, gravity pressing her deeper into Poe’s embrace as the wind whips by them and he cheers jubilantly on the way down.

It is both terrifying and exhilarating, and over _way_ too soon. She’s frozen in her seat at the bottom once they come to a stop, adrenaline coursing through her veins. Poe’s hands grip at her hips as he leans around her, trying to get a peek at her face.

“Well?” he chuckles. “What’d you think? Are you alright?”

She’s better than alright, she feels absolutely lit up from the inside. 

“Can we go again?” she wonders.

Poe’s already climbing off the sled and holding his hand out to help her off. “Oh, we’re _definitely_ going again,” he grins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All the fluff *O*


End file.
